North Queensland Cowboys vs Brisbane Broncos - Round 21, 2026
The result
Cowboys held Brisbane off for the win, 18 to 10, at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, leading 14 to 4 at the break. Heilum Luki got the scoring going in the 20th minute, and the Broncos never got closer than 6 points after halftime.
How it unfolded
The Cowboys made 5 line breaks to the Broncos' 2, doing the bulk of their damage through gaps rather than grind. Brisbane made 355 tackles to the Cowboys' 341 and completed at a higher rate, 81 percent to 76, but could not turn that field position into enough points.
Against projection
Ezra Mam scored 61 against a projection of just 25, the biggest beat of the match, while Payne Haas fell 17 short of his projected 72 with 55. Reed Mahoney's night ended after 7 minutes for 10 points, and Va'a Semu was withdrawn at 21 minutes having scored 21.
Price moves
Reece Walsh rose $30,000 after scoring 52 against a break even of 24, and Jeremiah Nanai rose $20,000 with 52 against a break even of 34. On the other side, Murray Taulagi fell $28,000 after scoring 22 against a break even of 49, and Coen Hess dropped $25,000 with 23 against a break even of 41.
Ownership outcome
Jake Clifford's try helped the Cowboys go 12 to 4 up before the break, but he finished with 40 against a projection of 50. Xavier Willison top-scored for Brisbane with 62 off a projection of 58, giving widely-followed Broncos fans a return on a player likely to sit at higher ownership than most of his teammates.
